Snapshots from South Korea: Pon de Ring Doughnuts from Mister Donut
From May 8 to May 12 I visited Seoul for the first time, mostly to eat as much food as I could and learn about a cuisine I knew little about.
I've never been a doughnut lover, which seems odd considering that I have a penchant for fried things, sweet things, and doughy things. Why does the combination of the three fail to fill me with explosive joy? Did I have a traumatic doughnut experience as a child? (Actually, I sort of did; my early doughnut memories involve unappealingly dense, dry cake doughnuts from a local gourmet food shop.) Or maybe it's because I live in New York City, which to me isn't a particularly good doughnut town.
But when I visited Seoul, I found the key to my doughnut happiness: Mister Donut! Although Mister Donut originated in the U.S., it mostly disappeared when it was acquired by Dunkin' Donuts' parent company, Allied-Lyons, in 1990. Japanese company Duskin Co. Ltd. bought the sales and trademark rights for Asia in 1983 and today it is the largest doughnut franchise in Japan. And even though I'm not familiar with every doughnut shop in the world, I think it's easy to say that not one else can beat them in the department of mascot cuteness.
Since I knew I wouldn't be visiting Japan anytime soon, I made it a point to visit Mister Donut in Seoul, a city with chain doughnut shops up the wazoo. Dunkin' Donuts is everywhere, along with Krispy Kreme, and even a Doughnut Plant. But those are all U.S.-based chains. I wanted something Asian.
Mister Donut makes regular yeasted and cake doughnuts (along with cream puffs), but also a variety of their famous Pon de Ring doughnuts. The Pon de Ring is based on the Brazilian pão de queijo, or cheese bread. Both have a slightly chewy textures, but the Pon de Ring doesn't have any cheese; its chewy texture comes from tapioca flour. Maybe. Fellow Serious Eater Emily Koh told me that no one can figure out exactly what the recipe/ingredients are, but people have determined that the chewy component might be tapioca with warabimochi. If you know Japanese, you can read some Pon de Ring recipes at cookpad.com.
One of my friends explained to me that "lover" in Korea means boyfriend or girlfriend, not sex partner. Keep that in mind if anyone refers to their lover.
My favorite touch: a single napkin wrapped in wax paper. We wouldn't want the napkin to get any grease stains.
I went with a plain, glazed Pon de Ring for ₩1,300 ($1.05). And I was addicted from the first bite. The texture was soft and light, the sweetness level was just rght, and each bite gave a slight "pop" from the chewy nature of the dough. On my next visit I kept a doughnut overnight to see how well it would fare after aging and it was still tasty the next day. Now I wonder if I could've hoarded a box of them and brought it back home. (I'm thinking probably not because I would've eaten them all on the plane.)
I can't go to Asia every time I want a Pon de Ring (or the similar Chewisty from Dunkin' Donuts). Can't someone make these doughnuts on American soil?
Related
I Want This Now: Mister Donut's Cute Cellphone Charms
New Burger/Doughnut Creations from Mosdo in Japan
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
18 Comments:
I love Mister Donut. I tried it the last time I was in Taipei, and it was great. I mean, good donuts are good donuts, but good donuts + a ridiculously cute mascot? The Asian girl in me cannot resist.
blisseau at 8:00PM on 05/19/09
MIS-DO! I miss it so much. The best part about Mister Donut, at least in Japan, is the Mis-Do point card. You can rack up points (donut points!) to win things like a lamp in the shape of a big donut. True story. My friend Carol had one. The second best thing about Mister Donut is that the donuts don't sit like fried, leaden rings in your stomach. Important when your normal donut-eating time is midnight, post bar-hopping.
anjali at 8:19PM on 05/19/09
@blisseau: I'm a pretty bad asian except when it comes to OBSESSING OVER CUTE THINGS!!!
@anjali: Oh my god I was browsing the Mis-Do store and I want this, yes.
roboppy at 9:12PM on 05/19/09
@roboppy: it's pretty much written into our genetic code :)
blisseau at 10:21PM on 05/19/09
Oooo Mister Donut is the best! The flavour and texture combination is to die for. I would prefer it over Krispy Kreme anytime, anywhere. I like the glazed version the best. I've tried other versions of the Pon de Ring in matcha and azuki bean; both were decent but not irresistible like the glazed. You just want more!
erich214 at 11:17PM on 05/19/09
you should have also checked out the korean dunkin donuts, they always have such weird flavored donuts there. plus they have donuts made with rice?/riceflour?? that are super delicious!
sustarz at 9:47AM on 05/21/09
I just returned to the states from spending 4 months traveling across Asia, including Taiwan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and of course Japan, where Mister Donuts are plenty. It eventually made it into my routine to stop at a Mister Donut whenever I saw one, and it's definitely something I greatly miss already!
howheels at 3:00PM on 05/21/09
@sustarz: I only tried their "chewisty" donut...I liked it, although not as much as the Pon de Ring.
roboppy at 11:49PM on 05/21/09
Oh gawd, I seek out Mr Donut whenever I travel in Asia. Newly obsessed with Pon de Lion since my visit to SKorea & Taiwan last month, he's too damn cute! I kept plotting how I could possibly steal one off the display shelf, since I couldn't just buy one (they have some point-earning system where you have to mail it in to get a toy, which sux if you're only there for a week). Oh well, will just settle for watching his YouTube vids over and over and over again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB5HJoKkv10
Trinadj at 1:20PM on 05/22/09
I didn't eat any Mr. Donut donuts while in Asia, but those look very similar to the "mochi ring" donuts found at Dunkin Donuts that Sustarz mentioned. Could the chewiness be glutinous rice flour?
The Brave Potato at 11:00AM on 05/23/09
@The Brave Potato: I thought it was rice flour at first but when I googled for the ingredients most signs pointed to tapioca flour. But rice flour should make that chewy texture too...
roboppy at 11:26AM on 05/23/09
I had never considered trying those donuts until you posted about them. This past weekend we were walking around in Apgujeong, and a Mister Donut was giving out free Pon de Rings. Couldn't believe they were this good. Bouncy texture and fun to chew. Not overly sweet.
ZenKimchi at 1:15AM on 05/25/09
@ZenKimchi: I'm glad you tried it! (And yay for free doughnuts!) I like the bouncy texture..but not too bouncy. It's nicely balanced. At least you can go back for more as I sit here and weep at my non-Pon de Ring existence.
roboppy at 1:27AM on 05/25/09
OMG I envy you people! I still remember the Mister Donut stores here in the Lehigh Valley (PA)...at least one of them still sits, empty, under another name in Allentown...
JerseyJeff at 5:33PM on 05/26/09
"Did I have a traumatic doughnut experience as a child? (Actually, I sort of did; my early doughnut memories involve unappealingly dense, dry cake doughnuts from a local gourmet food shop.)"
If the writer of this article is a chef, cook or any kind of foodie, they should know that the above mentioned are FRIED CAKES NOT doughnuts. They are made with a cake type batter and deep fried. Hence the term 'fried cakes'. Doughnuts are made from a yeast batter and raised. Hence they are called 'doughnuts'. The terms are NOT interchangeable as they are different things.
PyesAngel at 7:20PM on 05/26/09
PS: Those dry cake 'doughnuts from a local gourmet food shop......something was very wrong with them. REAL fried cakes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The very best eating every.
PyesAngel at 7:25PM on 05/26/09
these are obviously FRIED CAKES WITH A HOLE (as most people call them). any type of foodie or any type of person really would realize that donuts are a myth. come on, serious eats; i don't go to science blogs to read about bigfoot and ghosts. stick to what's real.
seriouspetes at 10:46AM on 05/27/09
The recipe on cookpad.com uses tapioca starch..so i guess that's what's making it nice and chewy?
I love MisoDo!!! I even have the little mascot as my desktop background..hehe...
If you want a Pon de Ring fix in NY, you can always try the mochi donuts at Zaiya, similar texture...not as great..but it's good enough..
lulagirl at 7:21PM on 05/29/09